In my mind I see myself walking down a path holding a precious gift that God has given me, small in size but very valuable. I am cradling it in my hands, holding it close to my heart. I am humbled and in awe that God would give me something so precious and that He would trust me with this gift. As I walk along the path the gift glows with a beautiful light and it brings me great blessing and opportunity, allowing me to bless others. There are some stumbling blocks along the road and I have to hold on tightly to the gift so that I don’t drop it or harm it. I travel this way for a while.
At some point I begin to think about what I would do if I lost the gift or is someone took it from me, or if God wanted it back one day. My grip becomes even tighter and I become afraid. Who am I without the gift? Sure enough God begins to whisper that my time with the gift is coming to an end. He is telling me that He has something else for me, a different gift, and that I must let go of the first one before He can give me the next one. God is gracious and He gives me time, He doesn’t allow anyone to take it from me, and He doesn’t demand it back. He simply continues to whisper that soon I will need to let it go.
Over the next course of the journey I struggle internally with letting go and the light of the gift begins to dim. Soon the blessing and opportunity it once brought me has ended and instead the gift becomes heavy. Little by little I begin to loosen my grip on the gift. It takes a while but eventually I am not gripping the gift at all, I am simply allowing it to rest in my hands. I know that if I stumble at this point it would fall so I walk carefully. Eventually I stop and I tell God that I am ready to let go. “Lord, take it in your timing; I will continue to walk carefully with it until that time comes.” God speaks to me and tells me exactly how many more steps I will get to take carrying the gift. He says that He has chosen someone else to carry it for a while and reminds me that He has a different gift for me to carry.
As I walk out these last steps carrying the gift I have mixed emotions. First I am sad, I will miss the gift and all that it brought to my journey. But even in the sadness I also feel an excitement begin to stir in my heart. I think about all of the joy the gift has brought me, and how it is going to bless the next person that carries it. I begin to think about the next gift that God has for me to carry and I know it will be a blessing too. I keep walking, carefully, counting each step. Soon I will say goodbye to the gift, but I have a few more steps left. I will carry it well to the end, and then I will let it go with joy knowing it will continue to bless others.
